A day of cover art design on The Dusty Mirror. I always spend a lot of time on this, partly because I'm aware how much the art of an album affects me. Queen's Sheer Heart Attack is one of their best albums, up there with A Night At The Opera or Queen II, yet, the garish red and black cover put me off the album instantly and it took years to appreciate the music; so I must make my covers both match the music somehow, and be pretty, worthy of a framed print on the wall.
Here is the front (so far!):
And the back (a few text details to come, I might add track times):
And a few of the inner pages. As I often do, I theme pages around specific tracks. One is about the 'Two Parents of a Child' song, which itself is a painting of mine too. I did the same with 'Except For The Hatred', and for the Richard Dadd song/painting, although that was a full circle, as the song was inspired by both the Queen song, 'The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke', and the story of Richard Dadd.
A long and tiring day starting at the computer screen. I have a headache and I'm missing Deb. The lockdown in Britain is thankfully easing and most people are starting to socialise normally. We are being extra cautious, as Deb is working in a separate household, and my parents are vulnerable to the disease; however they are going out far more than I. The rates here are now lower than in France or Germany, yet in the wider world we are far from a peak, that might happen in 6-months or a year's time.
The world is dividing into two. The idea of the Third World, touted after the Second World War, is today obsolete. The world is splitting into two, with Asia, Europe, Australasia, and other countries that have controlled Covid-19 on one side, and America, South America, and Africa on the other: Two worlds. This division, I think, will last for decades, even though a vaccine is likely within five years, and define the century. The North/South divide in Britain began in 1066 to 1086, but remains palpable today, 1000 years later.
There is controversy here over the government's choice of Huawai to help with 5G, for fears that the Chinese government somehow influences its technology. I think that's ridiculous paranoia, and it is trivial to insist on inspections and guarantees against that; however, the way the world is shifting, even with Chinese interference, it would be better to side with China than America, who, after all, spy and threaten and influence in exactly the same way - despite the stupidity of it all. There shouldn't really be any secrets in the world at all, and business should always supercede politics. Capitalism is a great tool for peace because it creates global inter-reliance, and demands free speech and free choice to operate efficiently. China is growing only because it was too crude in the 20th century. Eventually, its economy will demand social and political reforms of the sort that hit Britain in the early 19th century and it will become as democratic and accountable to its populace as every other country.
